


Gone in Sixty Seconds Again

by JustJenn



Category: Doctor Who, Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)
Genre: 2008 Nano, Everyone is BAMF, Explosions, F/M, Fast Cars, Gen, Kidnapping, Rose and Sway beat the crap out of the bad guys, San Francisco, alien parties, blue goo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-02
Updated: 2012-07-10
Packaged: 2017-11-02 22:34:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/374097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustJenn/pseuds/JustJenn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wherein the Doctor is mistaken for that guy in Gone in Sixty Seconds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my 2008 Nano and is the longest story I have ever written. A huge thanks for everyone at my lj who cheered me on.
> 
> A huge thank you to pumpkinqueen144 for the wonderful job she did beta reading. All remaining mistakes are my own.
> 
> First posted to my lj, FF and Teaspoon.
> 
> This story has nothing to do with the horrible sequel called Gone In 60 Seconds Again. Yes, they made a sequel and it was bad!

Somewhere in Delphi Cluster of galaxies.

The Doctor, Rose Tyler and Captain Jack Harkness weren’t running for their lives for once. In fact they were sitting at a nice outdoor’s café enjoying a quiet lunch. Rose had looked at her plate of blue meat, purple vegetables and her bright green drink with a suspicious eye before digging in.

“It tastes like chicken,” Rose said after a few moments of chewing. “Crispy chicken to boot.” 

“Rose, everything tastes like chicken. It’s one of those universal constants, otherwise everyone would starve to death,” Jack replied with a smile, spearing a purple vegetable that resembled a carrot but tasted like a mushroom, and popped it into his mouth. “Well maybe not Ratago because it’s made of-”

“If you complete that sentence, Jack Harkness, I’ll toss you into the vortex,” the Doctor said in a firm voice. 

“Shutting up right now, Doc,” Jack said quickly.

Captain Jack Harkness had just recently joined the Doctor and Rose after they had rescued him from an almost certain death when he had towed a World War Two German bomb off of Earth in a stolen spaceship. He had become fast friends with Rose but still was a bit leery about the Doctor. The Doctor could be a good ally or an unforgiving enemy and Jack still didn’t know which category the Doctor fitted into.

“Excuse me,” a blue skin alien with two blood shot eye stalks and wearing a badly rumpled green suit interrupted rudely, “are you the alien known as the Doctor?” 

“Who wants to know?” the Doctor replied in a hostile voice and Jack tensed at the Doctor’s tone. Clearly, the Doctor was expecting trouble from the alien and Jack cursed himself for forgetting his gun on the TARDIS.

“I’m from the Double-Double Publicity Firm, and I’ve got an invitation for the alien known as the Doctor,” the alien announced in a bored voice.

“An invitation to what?” The Doctor demanded in cold voice. Most sensible people would have run for hills after hearing the Doctor’s tone of voice.

“It’s an invitation for the Great Interplanetary Alignment of the Sixteen Planets of Rigil Kentaurus,” the alien recited in the same bored voice. “Your name is on the official invitation list.”

“Never heard of it,” the Doctor replied, drumming his fingers on the table. Jack shrugged his shoulders and Rose discreetly spat the purple vegetable into her napkin.

“Look, do you want the invitation or what?” the alien demanded irritably. “I’ve got five thousand of these things to deliver in my lifetime.”

“Five thousand invitations?” Rose exclaimed in a surprised voice.

“It’s a job. It pays the bills and puts food on the table,” the alien said with a careless shrug. He turned to the Doctor. “So, do you want it: yes or no?”

“Fine, I’ll take it,” the Doctor said in a resigned voice.

“Right, place your thumb here,” the alien said, thrusting a battered bio pad reader at the Doctor.

The Doctor placed his thumb against the bio pad reader, which promptly let out an electronic screech that caused several people to drop their drinking glasses and cover their ears. The machine spat out a data disk, which the Doctor promptly shoved in his jacket pocket.

“On behalf of Double-Double Publicity Firm, we hope to see you and your companions at the Great Interplanetary Alignment of the Sixteen Planets of Rigil Kentaurus. Have a nice day,” the alien said in an insincere voice before shuffling away.

“Are you going to open it?” Rose asked in a curious voice. She took a cautious sip of her drink, made a face and put it down.

“Later,” the Doctor replied with a frown. He ripped open a small packet and dumped the contents into her cup. “Try it now.”

Rose took a sip and nodded enthusiastically. It tasted like a Chai latte tea.

“You forget how to read?” the Doctor demanded, holding up the package and waving it at her. “Sugar.”

“It’s alien,” Rose replied quickly, “and I don’t read alien.”

“It’s not alien,” the Doctor said in an impatient voice.

“Lines, squiggles and circles make it alien in my book,” Rose said, putting down her drink and glared at the Doctor with fire in her eyes. “I’m not a stupid ape, you know. I can read.”

“Doc, I have to agree with Rose on this one,” Jack said quickly, trying to forestall an argument. “It’s alien.”

“Oh. Something is wrong with the translation circuits, then.” The Doctor looked faintly embarrassed as he spoke. He took Rose’s hand and gave it an apologetic squeeze. “Right then, back to the TARDIS after we've pick up some milk. We have some repairs to do.”

“Is that what you call it? Repairs?” Rose said in a cheeky voice.

“Oi, shut it Rose, otherwise I’ll have Jack tell you what Ratago is made of,” the Doctor replied with a smile.

\----

 

Two hours later, they were sitting in the kitchen drinking tea after they had successfully fixed the TARDIS translation circuits and given the drift coils an overhaul when the Doctor’s jacket started to bleep loudly. Jack and Rose looked on in amusement has the Doctor swore and pulled an assortment of junk out of his pockets until he found the source of the beeping. It was the data disk that the alien had given him earlier in the day.

“Well, are you going to find out what it wants?” Rose demanded in an eager voice, her brown eyes bright with curiosity. “I mean, the Intergalactic Alignment of whatever sounds really important and that poor alien went through a lot of trouble to track you down. The least you can do is listen to the message.”

“Alright, Rose, I get the hint,” the Doctor replied with a sigh and pressed the play button. For the next twenty minutes, they were bombarded with the best virtual ad campaign that money could buy. 

“We have to go!” Rose said enthusiastically after the presentation was finished. “It looks like so much fun.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Rose, I hate parties,” the Doctor growled at her. Rose’s face fell at his words and Jack promptly kicked the Doctor’s ankle, making the Doctor wince. “On the other hand, maybe we should go. After all, something is bound to go wrong.” He turned to Jack. “You up for a party?”

“I’m always up for a party, Doctor,” Jack replied with a wink. 

“I bet you are,” Rose said with a grin. She turned to the Doctor. “When are we going?”

“No time like the present,” the Doctor replied, dumping his empty tea cup into the sink.

“Right now? I can’t go looking like this. Jeans and a t-shirt isn’t going to cut it, ” Rose protested, gesturing to herself. She had packed sensible clothes and running shoes, not party dresses and high heels, on her last visit to Earth

“We are not going back to Earth,” the Doctor said in a firm voice. “I refuse to spend another minute with that she-dragon or with Rickey-the-idiot.”

“That’s my mum you’re talking about,” Rose said in an indignant voice, ignoring the slur against her ex-boyfriend.

“She slapped me! Across the face no less, and it hurt,” the Doctor said in an outraged voice, touching his cheek. He swore that he could still feel Jackie Tyler’s hand print on his face. Of course, if Jackie Tyler had her way, she would have gone after the Doctor with a cricket bat or a pair of scissors.

“That’s because she thought that you had kidnapped me and forced me to have a sexual relationship with you,” Rose countered swiftly. Jackie Tyler hadn’t spared her tongue the minute she had gotten Rose alone. Rose had blushed to the roots of her hair when her mother had brought up the issue of birth control and babies exploding from Rose’s body a la Alien.

“Rose’s mom slapped you?” Jack demanded in an amazed voice. “She must be one hell of a woman.”

“I would rather face a horde of Nappa demons than Jackie Tyler on a rampage,” the Doctor said shortly. “Look Rose, the TARDIS has over sixty wardrobe rooms, I’m sure you can find something to wear.”

\----

“Rose, are you ready yet?” the Doctor shouted impatiently, knocking on Rose’s bedroom door. It had taken the Doctor three minutes to get dressed. He had merely changed his jumper for a new one and polished his boots. Jack had decided to wear a classic black tuxedo with a blue vest and tie that matched his eyes.

“Five more minutes,” Rose called back, smoothing out the imaginary wrinkles on her dress. Rose had spent an hour going through the TARDIS wardrobes looking for the prefect dress. In the end she had fallen back on the universal standby: the little black dress. It was a lightweight silk chiffon V- neck dress with a pleated skirt.

Rose had been a bit leery when she found the matching high heels but they felt comfortable when she had tried them on. She had found an entire room devoted to costume jewelry and finally picked out a lovely necklace with matching earrings, ring and bracelets. The stones glowed with a deep blue light that reminded her of the Earth’s sky or a certain Time Lord’s eyes. Rose gave herself one last look in the mirror and nodded to herself. She grabbed her black and silver clutch purse and went to the control room.

“Well, it’s about time you got here Rose,” the Doctor said, looking up from the console, and his reprimand died in his throat when he saw Rose Tyler. She was wearing a classic V neck black dress that showed off her body very nicely and her hair fell past her shoulders in a cascade of long curls.

“You, you look lovely, Rose, absolutely smashing,” the Doctor stuttered, and Rose blushed at his words. “Come here, I have a gift for you,” the Doctor said softly, taking her wrist and slipping a corsage around Rose’s wrist.

“Oh, they are beautiful, Doctor, thank you,” Rose said shyly. Impulsively, she gave him a quick kiss on his cheek before stepping away.

Jack mentally sighed. For all of the Doctor’s rude comments about humans, it was clear to him that he adored Rose Tyler and Rose Tyler returned his feelings. If it was the last thing he ever did, he would get these two together.

“Ready to go?” the Doctor demanded, holding his hand out to Rose, which she promptly took. He held out his other hand to Jack. “Come on, let’s go and have some fun!”

\---

 

“This place is incredible,” Rose said in an awed voice, staring around the Grand Ballroom of Rigil Kentaurus V. The floor was made out of dark blue marble with gold and silver veins running though it and the walls seemed to dance with an inner light. It wasn’t until much later on that Rose discovered that lights had been placed behind the walls to make it glow. Millions of imported plants and flowers decorated the Grand Ballroom as well. There was no ceiling, only the black night sky. Each planet in the Great Interplanetary Alignment glowed brightly has they slowly started to move into position for the great alignment.

The band played softly in the background careful not to drown out the thousands of conversations that were taking place. The buffet table and the wet bar seemed to stretch forever and was loaded down with every type of food and drink that could be imagined.

“No kidding, I’ve been to a lot of parties in my lifetime and this one puts them all to shame,” Jack said, looking around. “You want a drink, Rose? Doctor?”

“I’m good,” the Doctor replied, looking around the ballroom and shaking his head at the sheer opulence that was on display. “Tell you what, I’ll find us a table while you two grab something to eat and drink.”

“How are we going to find you?” Rose asked, gesturing at the room. There had to be well over six thousand people in the vast room with more people arriving every minute. If she got separated from the Doctor or Jack, she would never find them.

“Give me your wrist Rose, you too Jack,” the Doctor said. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at their wrists. 

“What did you do?” Jack demanded, looking at his vortex manipulator and noticing a new setting.

“Installed a doctor finder, meaning me, on your vortex manipulator and Rose’s bracelet,” the Doctor said with a satisfied grin.

“Well, that will come in handily the next time you wander off or get kidnapped,” Rose replied with a smile ignoring the Doctor’s protest. She held out her arm to Jack. “Come on, Captain Jack, let’s go and investigate. ” Arm and arm, they walked off together.

\---

The Great Interplanetary Alignment of Rigil Kentaurus took place at exactly 38:16 and the following things happened:

Gryrock the Terrible appeared in a vortex of blue light, ready to smite his enemies with his trusty sword. He was promptly arrested and is currently awaiting sentencing pending a psychiatric evaluation.

Torterra and Espeon decided that their grudge match to the death wasn’t worth it when they discovered that the party they had crashed had an open bar. They woke up to discover that they had gotten married at a drive-thru chapel.

The Emperor of Delporta got married and divorced in twenty minutes. He claimed it was a mistake. His ex-wife sold her story to Gossip-Universe.com for five hundred thousand galactic credits. She went on to have a successful talk show career and wrote several books on relationships.

Elvis, the real one, put in an appearance on Rigil Kentaurus IV. No one believed him. He changed his name and now works at Allparts Spaceparts on Seti VII. “Fred” is tired of being compared to Elvis.

Captain Jack Harkness was disappointed that Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters failed to live up to their mythical hype. He did fall in love with Black Hole Bombs which he described has having your brain swished around your head several times.

Rose Tyler discovered that Ratago was quite tasty when she got over the shock that the main ingredients were something that looked liked boiled crickets and boiled spaghetti covered with gray goo. No one had the heart to tell her that she was eating the brains and intestines of a small animal.

The Doctor got a perfect score in the Intergalactic Trivia Impossible Quiz. He won a billion bonus points and a huge trophy. His trophy was stolen by Urik the Giant who used it has a drinking mug. One of the cleaning crew found the trophy in a swimming pool, took it home and gave it to his wife. She planted flowers in it.

Several hours later, the Doctor made sure that he gave Jack and Rose a hangover cure before sending them to bed.

\---

Several hours later, Jack woke up and realized the following things: he didn’t have a hangover but his mouth felt like a sewer, and he desperately needed to go to the bathroom. Jack went to the bathroom, did his business, and turned on the tap to wash his hands and brush his teeth. He stared at the blue goo that oozed out of the tap. Jack sighed deeply and went to find the Doctor.

An hour later, they discovered that the entire water filtration system was infected with a thick blue goo. Thankfully, the Doctor found several cases of water in one of the TARDIS’s storage rooms so they could wash, brush their teeth and have something to eat and drink.

“I thought the TARDIS had bio-filters or something like that so nothing bad could get in,” Rose asked, wincing as she sat down. Her first encounter with a sonic shower had resulted in bruises down her back and legs and a session with the dermal regenerator.

“She does, which means I’ll have to fix the filters as well,” the Doctor said crossly, running his hand through his short brown hair. He muttered a curse that the TARDIS didn’t translate when he realized the sheer amount of work that had to be done. He was going to have drain all the water out of the TARDIS, flush out the filtration system, then refill the TARDIS with fresh water. Experience had also taught him that if the bio and water filters were starting to malfunction then all the filters would have to inspected and replaced.

“All right, Doctor, what can we do to help?” Jack demanded anxiously while Rose nodded.

“Rose, I need you to go to the console room and park us in orbit around the nearest sun. Underneath the left side of the console, you’ll find a gray lever. Push it into the upright position,” the Doctor said, his blue eyes suddenly filled with renewed energy. “Don’t be alarmed when part of the floor pops up. The filters should be clear. If they are dirty or cracked I need you to write down in sequence which ones need to be cleaned or replaced.”

“Well, it looks like all those driving lessons you have been giving me are going to pay off,” Rose said in an excited voice, bouncing towards the door. “See you in a bit!”

“Jack, I need you to start fixing the transmat device. There are several storage rooms of spare parts if you need something. Then, I need you to start calculating how much power the TARDIS will need to move about one million liters of blue goo. Just remember that the goo is five times heavier than water,” the Doctor said, drumming his fingers on the table. “If you need me, I’ll be in the chemistry laboratory. I’ve got to make something that will clean out the water filtration system.”

\---  
“Well done, Jack, very well done,” the Doctor complimented heartily, after he had checked over the transmat device. Although the TARDIS transmat was centuries ahead of 51st century technology, Jack had done an outstanding repair job and his calculations to remove the blue goo had been dead on.

“Thank you, Doctor,” Jack said in a relieved voice. He had been nervous when he poked his head into the lab and told the Doctor he had fixed the transmat device. He had half expected the Doctor to sneer at his repair job and point out the mistakes in his calculations.

The Doctor mentally sighed. He knew that Jack still felt that he had to prove to the Doctor that he belonged on the TARDIS. The Doctor also knew that Jack had some serious abandonment issues as well. Jack had lost two years of his life due to a mind wipe and he had been tossed out of the Time Corps as a result. Shunned by his so-called friends and colleagues and completely cut off from his former life, Jack had been forced to adopt the persona of a cold and uncaring con-man- mercenary in order to survive.

“Look at me, Jack,” the Doctor said in a firm voice and Jack slowly raised his head. “I want you here, so does Rose and so does that TARDIS. I’m not going to leave you behind, or toss you out because you disagree with me or pissed me off. This is your home for as long as you want, Jack, and I hope that you stay with us for a very long time,” the Doctor explained gently. He pulled a gold key chain out of his jacket pocket and hung it around Jack’s neck. “TARDIS key, about time I gave you one.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Jack whispered around the lump in his throat and some of the armor around his heart disappeared “It’s been a long time since I’ve had somewhere to call home.” Impulsively, he hugged the Doctor hard before stepping back. “Come on, let’s go and see how Rose is doing, shall we?"

The Doctor frowned as he read Rose’s neat hand writing. Most of the biological and water filters needed to be replace. It was going to be a long and tedious task since each filter had to be replaced hand.

“That bad?” Rose asked in a concerned voice while Jack made himself comfortable in the jump chair.

“Yup,” the Doctor replied in a resigned voice. “Most of the filters have to be replaced and it has to be done by hand but the problem is that we can’t replace the filters with new ones until we’ve gotten rid of the blue goo and flushed out the water filtration system which leads to problem number two. The stuff I need to use is toxic to humans and even with my superior cardiovascular system,” Jack and Rose rolled their eyes at the Doctor’s hubris, “I’m not staying aboard the TARDIS by myself. Rassilon knows what trouble you two will get into.”

Rose promptly smacked his shoulder and Jack mock-glared at him.

Rubbing his shoulder, the Doctor continued with a grin. “Thanks to Jack’s fantastic repairs, it will take about half a day to move the goo off the TARDIS, and about four days to flush out the water filtration system then a day to replace all the filters.”

“Where are we going to stay?” Rose asked in a concerned voice.

“Where would you like to go?” the Doctor asked, leaving the decision in her hands. “Name the time and place and I’ll take you there.”

Rose wisely decided that visiting her mum would not be a good idea and the mere thought of her mum flirting with Jack was enough to make her shudder. “How about San Francisco? During the 1960s?”

“I’ve never been to San Francisco, Earth,” Jack mused out loud, “but I did leave my heart in New San Francisco, twice.”

“Never mind that,” the Doctor said, getting up. “Come on, you two, work before play.”


	2. Chapter Two

“I don’t think this is the 1960's,” Rose remarked has a woman walked by clutching a Starbucks coffee cup like it was the most important thing on the planet. The TARDIS had dematerialized behind some trees in the Golden Gate Park. 

“November 19, 2005 to be exact,” Jack said after grabbing a discarded newspaper out of the garbage and reading the date. Rose looked at the Doctor with a raised eyebrow.

“The important thing is that we landed in San Francisco,” the Doctor said quickly before Rose or Jack could comment about his piloting skills. “Come on, we need to find a cyber café. I need to book us a hotel otherwise we’ll be sleeping in the park.”

Twenty minutes later, the Doctor was sitting in the back corner of an upscale cyber café. Rose and Jack made a beeline to the counter to order coffee. The Doctor had a long conversation with an old friend who insisted that he stay at his hotel when he found out that the Doctor was visiting San Francisco for a few days. 

They grabbed a taxi and fifteen minutes later they arrived at the hotel. The doorman smiled politely has he held the door open when they entered the hotel lobby.

Rose started to feel very self-conscious as they walked through the plush hotel lobby. It seemed that everyone was dressed in very expensive clothing and the women seemed to be dripping with jewelry. A woman dressed in a silk green dress with matching accessories glanced in their direction and gave Rose a disdainful look when she saw Rose’s jeans, pink hoodie and muddy running shoes.

“Ignore her, Rose,” Jack muttered in a low voice, seeing Rose’s discomfort written on her face. “I can’t stand people who look down on others just to make themselves feel better.” 

“I dealt with a lot of people like her when I worked at Henrik's, they thought I was beneath them because I was a shop girl,” Rose said with a sigh, thinking about some of the rude customers she had encountered. “Can’t stand people like that.”

“Just ignore her, Rose. She wouldn’t last more than two minutes aboard the TARDIS,” Jack said, giving her hand a squeeze. “She would probably faint dead away if she saw Skag.”

“What’s a Skag?” Rose asked as the Doctor said something to the counter person. The woman gave the Doctor a wide eyed look, then quickly spoke into her headset.

“Looks like a ten foot tall cockroach with six inch fangs,” Jack replied with a grin.

“Note to self, start packing bug spray when we leave the TARDIS,” Rose muttered with a shudder. She hated bugs in any way, shape or form. The Doctor gave her a quizzical look before the hotel manager stepped out of his office.

“Doctor Smith?” a man wearing gold rimmed glasses with dark brown hair and hazel eyes, wearing a three piece Armani black suit, asked politely. “I’m Victorio Russo, manager of The Loft, San Francisco. I’m sorry that Mr. Saitama wasn’t here to greet you but he is in Dubai at the opening of our new hotel,” Victorio said, firmly shaking hands with the Doctor, Rose and Jack. 

Mr. Saitama had personally called Victorio Russo thirty minutes ago and had ordered him to make Doctor Smith and his friends as comfortable as possible while they were staying at his hotel, and Mr. Saitama would personally take care of Doctor Smith’s hotel bill.

“That’s alright, Mr. Russo. I don’t expect Akihiko to drop everything and fly half way around the world to greet me,” the Doctor replied in a cheerful voice. “How’s the old man doing these days?”

“Fine,” Victorio said, slightly taken back by the Doctor’s question. Not in a million years would he or any of his employees refer to Mr. Saitama by his first name or has an old man, even if the man was pushing seventy-five years old. He decided to change the topic quickly before he started asking questions that he had no right to be asking. “If you would like to follow me, I’ll show you to your suite.” 

They went over to an elevator marked private and fifteen seconds later, they stepped into the loft that they would call home for the next six days. Rose looked around in awe and even Jack had to admit that he was impressed.

The loft had a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay and clearly money had not been an issue in decorating the loft. The main room featured a huge living area with several leather sofas and chairs. There was a fully stocked wet bar with seating for four and Rose’s mouth watered when she saw several platters of food and a champagne bucket on the dining room table. There was a forty two inch plasma television screen, and state of the art entertainment system.

A spiral staircase led to the second floor that featured three bedrooms with king size beds, fully stocked mini-bar, thirty two inch plasma television in each room, and walk in closets. The bathroom had a sunken bath tub that could easily fit two people, walk in shower, his and her sinks, and had an assortment of luxury bath and body products.

“Doctor Smith, here are your room cards for your visit. You can access the deck, swimming pool, squash courts on the tenth floor,” Victorio explained handing them their room cards. “There are two four star restaurant in our hotel. If you wish to eat here, please call the front desk to make a reservation or if you wish to dine in your room, one of our chefs will be more than happy to cook in room for you. We also have full room service available twenty four hours a day. 

“There are also several boutiques within the hotel if you wish to go shopping. If you wish to buy something, have the sale person swipe your room card and it will be taken care of,” Victorio explained with a smile. “If you need a car, we can have one at the front door within half an hour and we can provide a driver if you need one. There are also numerous amenities that I’m quite sure that you and your party will enjoy, ” Victorio said, pulling out his business card and handing it to the Doctor. “If you need anything at all, please don’t hesitate to call me day or night.” 

“Thank you, Mr. Russo, “the Doctor said in a warm voice has they walked to the elevator. “I’m sure that Mr. Saitama will be very please when I tell him how helpful you have been.”

They spent the next few days exploring San Francisco and the surrounding area. They spent a fun filled day at Fisherman's Wharf. Rose had been entranced by the Aquarium of the Bay, which prompted the Doctor to promise he would take her Mairnus Seven, a planet on the opposite side of the universe that was unique because the water in the ocean was made of breathable liquid oxygen.

They took a private boat tour of San Francisco Bay, including a visit to the infamous Alcatraz Prison, and that night they went on the Chinatown Ghost Walking Tour followed by supper at the luxurious Jade Lantern Restaurant located in the heart of Chinatown. It had been well after midnight when they got back to their hotel. Rose had gone straight to bed while the Doctor had settled down with a crossword puzzle he was doing in nine hundred languages. Jack had wandered around restless for several minutes before disappearing into his room. The Doctor’s sharp ears could hear the water running.

“I’m heading out for a bit, Doc,” Jack said coming down the stairs and paused in front of the mirror and carefully fixed his hair. “How do I look?” Jack demanded, putting on his jacket and shoving his wallet into his back pocket.

“Good enough to eat,” the Doctor replied, letting his eyes linger on Jack. The former time agent was wearing tight black pants, polished black shoes and silk red dress shirt open at the neck that gave a tantalizing glimpse of his chest and the Doctor could smell the subtle pheromones that Jack was releasing into the air. The Doctor made a mental note to find out how much genetic tampering had been done to humans by the fifty-first century.

“That’s the whole idea, Doctor,” Jack purred in a low voice. There was a predatory gleam in his blue eyes. One of the waiters had discreetly slipped Jack a card early that morning and a quick internet search had pulled up a website to a very exclusive men’s club in the heart of the Gay Village of San Francisco. “Don’t wait up for me.” 

“Jack,” the Doctor called out, and Jack’s hand paused on the doorknob, “be careful whom you home go with.”

“I’m always careful, Doctor,” Jack replied in a serious voice and touched by the Doctor’s concern. “See you later.”

“Where’s Jack?” Rose asked the next morning, cradling a cup of hot tea in her hand. The Doctor had thoughtfully ordered room service and they were enjoying a nice leisurely breakfast for two consisting of French toast, eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, freshly squeezed orange juice, and tea.

“He went out last night or rather early this morning. I think he was starting to have a case of cabin fever,” the Doctor replied, helping himself to another piece of fresh fruit.

“Oh, I bet he had a fever,” Rose said in a cheeky voice, “and I’m willing to bet he found someone to put out the fire, several times, in fact.” 

“So, what do you want to do today?” the Doctor asked, pouring another cup of tea for Rose. It was a nice sunny day outside but the weatherman reported that cooler air was moving in later tonight with a possibility of rain tomorrow.

“How about wine tasting in the Napa Valley?” Rose replied after a few seconds of hard thinking. She smiled at him, happy at the thought of spending the day with just the Doctor. “I’ve always wanted to drive through the countryside in a convertible on my way to a wine tasting party.”

“Wine tasting it is,” the Doctor replied, secretly relieved that Rose hadn’t mentioned shopping or lounging around the pool area. Shopping was slightly below spending a day with Jackie Tyler and he didn’t want to spend the day at the pool being the “Oncoming Storm” if someone looked at Rose the wrong way. “I’ll give Mr. Russo a call and leave everything in his capable hands.”

“Right, then, I’ll go and get changed. If I’m going wine tasting I need to look the part,” Rose said cheerfully, finishing the last of her tea and putting the china cup down on the table, “I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.”

“You do look lovely, Rose,” the Doctor complimented as they walked through the hotel lobby twenty minutes later. He slipped his hand into hers and gave it a squeeze. Rose was wearing a silk white blouse, a floral print skirt, her favorite black high heels and a pair of oversize sunglasses were perched on her head. She was carrying her sensible “running-for-her-life-shoes” in her new shoulder bag.

“Good morning, Doctor Smith, Ms. Tyler,” Victorio Russo greeted the Doctor and Rose cheerfully with a hearty handshake. So far, Doctor Smith and his friends had been the perfect hotel guests. No outrageous demands, no incidents that had to be hushed up or discreetly handled. “If you would like to come this way, I’ll show you to your car.”

“Wow, that’s a lovely car,” Rose said, staring at the blue Jaguar convertible. Although she wasn’t car crazy like her ex-boyfriend Mickey, she could appreciate a beautiful car when she saw one.

“Here is your car registration, and insurance papers, Doctor Smith,” Victorio Russo said, handing the Doctor an oversize leather wallet with the insurance papers, a gasoline credit card and most importantly, the car keys. “Here are the directions to the winery. I had the garage program the GPS as well. I’ve booked you a private tour at The Ticino Estate and I’m sure that you’ll enjoy your tour of the winery.”

“Thank you, Mr. Russo,” the Doctor replied graciously. He held the car door open for Rose, then the Doctor got in the car and carefully eased out into traffic, keeping well within the speed limit has they drove out of San Francisco and into the Napa Valley area.  
.  
They arrived at the Ticino Estates and then took a comprehensive tour of the Estate by the owner, Andrea Baertschi, a feisty red head from New York City. She had single-handedly started her winery back in the 1970's, and built her winery into one of the largest private label suppliers in North America. They ate an excellent lunch and sampled several fine wines with their meal. Andrea had insisted that they take several bottles of wine as a parting gift. Halfway back to the hotel Rose got a text message from Jack saying he was at the hotel swimming pool if they were looking for him. 

“Hey, Jack! Nice bathing suit,” Rose greeted him, sitting down next to him. The Doctor had disappeared into the TARDIS to check the water filtrations system and knowing the Doctor with his “superior cardiovascular system,” it would be a while before he reappeared.

Jack was stretched out in a deck chair, wearing a pair of black Speedo that left little to the imagination. Three bikini clad women walked by and they eyed Jack before giggling amongst themselves.

“Have a nice night?” Rose asked in an innocent voice.

“Now, Rose, you know I don’t kiss and tell,” Jack said seriously with a gleam in his bright blue eyes. They stared at each other for a few seconds before erupting in laughter.

Rose slowly swam towards consciousness. She cracked open an eye and stared blurrily at the alarm clock. It was eight o’clock in the morning. Yawning, she got out of bed, stumbled over to the window and pulled the curtain back. The window was streaked with rain and the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Area were hidden by a thick blanket of fog. Rose went right back to bed and was sound asleep in two minutes.

“Good morning sleepy head,” Jack greeted cheerfully when Rose came downstairs two and a half hours later. He gave Rose a cup of tea which she took gratefully. Rose helped herself to breakfast and looked around with a frown when she realized that her favorite Time Lord was nowhere to be found.

“Where’s the Doctor?” Rose asked before taking a bite of her bagel with cream cheese.

“Right here,” the Doctor replied stepping out of the TARDIS. He sat down and accepted a cup of coffee from Jack and snagged a slice of cantaloupe from Rose’s plate. There was a faint frown on the Doctor’s face while he chewed his piece of cantaloupe.

“What’s wrong?” Jack demanded in a worried voice and Rose look at the TARDIS and then the Doctor, the concern visible in her brown eyes.

“The old girl is starting to run low on energy that’s all. She hasn’t had a proper tune up since the Time War,” the Doctor broke off for a few seconds, the pain clearly visible in his blue eyes and then continued in a low voice, “and she’s starting to feel her age. We need to take her to Cardiff to refuel after we’ve replaced the bio and water filters.”

“Why Cardiff?” Jack demanded and for some reason a shiver went down his back when the Doctor mentioned Cardiff.

“There’s an energy rift running through the heart of the city,” the Doctor explained taking another slice of cantaloupe off of Rose’s plate. “I’ll park the TARDIS, let her refuel and off we go.”

Rose sat down on the sofa and called her mother while the Doctor fiddled with a complicated piece of machinery while shamelessly listening in on Rose’s conversation and making rude comments under his breath. Rose finally threw a pillow at the Doctor before marching upstairs to her room. Jack chuckled to himself and settled down with a copy of the San Francisco Chronicle and another cup of coffee.

Half an hour later, Rose came downstairs and made herself comfortable on one of the leather sofas. She took a cup of tea from the Doctor, accepting his silent apology for his earlier behavior.

“Hey Doc? Did you know that there’s a car show in town today and tomorrow?” Jack said looking up from the full page color ad in the San Francisco Chronicle. “Exotic sport cars, classic cars, new models and hot rods.”

“Really?” the Doctor replied in an interested voice, looking up from his Sudoku puzzle he was doing in nine hundred languages. He had gone to several car shows with the Brigadier in the early 1970's.

“It’s at the Moscone Center, today from ten until seven pm and tomorrow from ten to five pm,” Jack said enthusiastically reading the ad. “Sounds like lots of fun.” Jack caught sight of the expression on Rose’s face. “Not interested Rose?”

“Not really,” Rose replied truthfully. Besides being football crazy, Mickey was also car crazy as well and she had been dragged to several car shows in London and the surrounding area. “But tell you what: why don’t you two go to the car show and I’ll catch up with you later on.”

“What are you going to do Rose?”Jack demanded in a curious voice.

“Spa day,” Rose replied cheerfully. She had overheard from some of the ladies at the pool that the Blue Crane Spa, located inside the hotel, was one of the best spas on the West Coast. Before going to bed last night she had looked up some of the services that the Blue Crane Spa offered. Frankly, a hot stone message sounded more exciting than looking at cars all afternoon.

“Alright then,” the Doctor said tossing the newspaper on the table and getting up. He made a quick phone call to the front desk and hung up three minutes later. “Rose, they are expecting you in fifteen minutes and our car should be here in ten minutes Jack.”


	3. Chapter three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> G.R.A.B stands for Governor's Regional Auto-Theft Bureau

Randal “Memphis” Raines watched the crowd of people milling around his kiosk at the San Francisco International Car Show. Memphis to his friends, had been one of the best car thieves in the business until his mother had asked him to leave before he ended up in jail for the rest of his life. Memphis had been working at run down go- kart track when one of his old crew had contacted him with news that his brother Kip, had taken on a job and was in way over his head.

Memphis had gone back to Long Beach and tried to negotiate with Raymond “The Carpenter” Calitri only to discover that Calitri had placed Kip in a car and Kip had literally come within inches of being crushed to death. With no other option, Memphis had taken on Kip’s original job: steal and deliver fifty exotic cars in seventy two hours or Kip’s life was forfeit.

Memphis had gotten most of his old crew back together including his ex-girlfriend, Sara “Sway” Swayland. Against all odds they had managed to steal forty nine cars on the list until he came to a car that he had never been able to successfully steal: the 1967 Shelby GT500, nicknamed “Eleanor”. 

Memphis had led the LAPD, Detective Roland Castleback and his partner Detective Timothy Drycoff from the G.R.A.B unit on a wild chase through the streets of downtown Los Angeles climaxing when he had used a tow truck ramp to leap over an a massive car accident. He had arrived at Pier Fourteen five minutes after Calitri’s deadline with a badly banged up car. Calitri refused to take the car and declared that Kip’s life was forfeit. Memphis had attacked Calitri and Calitri had chased Memphis into his warehouse intent on killing Memphis.

Detective Castleback had followed both men into the warehouse and he had been confronted by Calitri who was intent on killing him. Memphis’ well placed kick sent Calitri straight over the railing and Calitri had fallen to his death, ironically half landing in the coffin that he had made for Kip. Detective Castleback, a man who believed in repaying his debts, had let Memphis go and Memphis in turn, had told him about the cargo ship that was about to set sail that he might want to check out. The LAPD closed the case with little fuss. G.R.A.B had broken up a major car theft ring, recovered fifty stolen cars and no one was going to shed a tear because Raymond Calitri was dead. 

For the second time in his life, Memphis had walked away from the auto theft business. He started working for his old mentor, Otto Haliwell, by restoring or customizing cars. After Otto’s wife June got breast cancer, he had sold his garage for a song to Memphis. Otto had taken his wife on a motorcycle tour of the United States to celebrate her recovery. They ended up settling in Tucson, Arizona where Otto had opened up a small customizing body shop.

Memphis and his garage had built up a solid reputation in the following years and several anti-theft car manufactures used Memphis and his crew to test out their new products on a regular basis. “We get paid to steal cars now. How cool is that?” Memphis would often remark with a chuckle.

He watched Sara, “Sway”, to her closest friends, being interviewed for a local television channel. They had gotten married three years ago and in seven months time, he was going to be a father for the first time. Kip had gotten married last year ago and moved to Illinois. 

Toby and Jessie (his newest employee,) were currently doing a demonstration paint job on a 1970 Plymouth Road Runner in front of their kiosk. His long time friends, The Sphinx and Donny were watching Memphis’ beloved Eleanor, a Shelby GT500, in the Classic Car Hall. Life as far as he was concerned was very good right now.

 

\---

“Now, that is a car,” Jack stated looking at the silver Austin Martin DBS in the Showcase Hall. “V12 engine with a top speed of three hundred and seven kilometers per hour. That is one fast lady.” Jack looked at the Doctor. “Ever had a car Doctor?”

“Oh yes, I had a custom built a car in the 1970's,” the Doctor replied thinking back when the Time Lords had exiled him to Earth during his third regeneration. “Zero to three hundred kilometers in ten seconds. She had anti-gravity brakes, stability dampers, cruise control, self contained force field and she was powdered with hydrogen fuel cells. Bessie,” Jack snickered at the name, “was light years ahead of her time. What about you Jack, did you have a car or the fifty-first century equivalent when you were growing up?” The Doctor had noticed that Jack seldom mentioned his past life unless directly asked.

“Yeah I found an old X-F Seven when I was growing up,” Jack said looking at the Doctor with a wistful smile. “I spent years fixing her up, trying to get her to fly again.” That car had been a refuge while he was growing up. “Right before I left home, she flew for one last time. Of course I crashed her into my neighbor’s backyard, but she flew Doc and she was magnificent.”

They went upstairs to the Exotic Car Hall and looked at the huge collection of Ferrari’s, Maybacks, Austin Martins and then they went up to the Classic Car Hall. They started working their way down the hall, admiring the 1953 Chevrolet Corvette, the 1969 Dodge Charger, the 1961 Porsche 356 Speedster and the various classic and muscle cars that had defined and inspired a generation. The Doctor and Jack didn’t noticed a sharp dressed man stare at the Doctor in amazement as they walked by him. The man pushed his way out of the hall and quickly made a phone call.

Vincent “The Sphinx” Jones watched the crowd with a dispassionate eye. Most people in front of the ropes that kept the crowds of people away from the classic cars flinched when they met his eyes. The Sphinx projected the air that he was one step away from ripping someone’s limbs off with his bare hands. He watched Donny Astricky working the crowd by answering endless questions about Memphis’ beloved Eleanor and handing out business cards.

The Sphinx watched the crowd and he suddenly stiffened when he thought he saw Raymond “The Carpenter” Calitri making his way down the hall. The Sphinx drifted towards the ropes and quickly studied the man he thought was Raymond Calitri. His hair was much shorter but there was no mistaking those cold blue eyes, the big ears and that harsh northern accent. Thankfully Calitri hadn’t spotted Donny or himself. The Sphinx quickly went over to Donny and tapped him on the shoulder and dragged him away from the ropes.

“What’s up man?” Donny demanded turning his back to the crowd, “you need to go to the bathroom or something?”

“I just saw Raymond Calitri,” the Sphinx said in a low voice. 

“What?” Donny said in a stunned voice. “Are you fucking kidding me? The man is dead Sphinx, Memphis took him down years ago.” 

“Well then, the dead are walking because he’s right behind you,” the Sphinx replied gripping Donny’s shoulder tightly preventing him from turning around “Don’t turn around Donny, he’s right in front of us.”

“Shit, shit, shit,” Donny cursed under his breath. He knew that Calitri would recognize him because he had met the man when he had delivered a 1999 Infiniti Q45 to Pier Fourteen. Besides being a complete nut job, the man was racist as well. “Is he still there?”

“Yes,” the Sphinx glancing quickly at Calitri and his friend out the corner of his eye. “Laugh or something, we’re starting to draw attention to ourselves.” 

Donny let out a weak chuckle and slapped the Sphinx on the shoulder as if he had told a good joke. Donny then started gesturing to Eleanor, then shaking his head as if he disagreed with something that the Sphinx had said.

“Okay, they’re moving along,” the Sphinx muttered in a low voice watching Calitri and his friend slowly move down the hall and eventually into the food court area. He craned his neck and saw them go into the VIP lounge. “You stay here, I’ll go and tell Memphis the bad news.” 

“Yeah, you do that man,” Donny replied in a nervous voice, wiping his sweaty hands on his pants, “I’ll be here having a nervous breakdown or something.”

\---

“Like whoa, who’s parting the Red Sea man?” Toby asked, taking a sip of his lukewarm coffee. He made a face and put the coffee down. “Hey, Jessie,” the blond looked up with an enquiring look on his face, “go and get some hot coffee.”

“It’s the Sphinx. He looks like he’s really pissed off,” Jessie replied, putting down his sandwich and getting up. “I hope nothing has happened to Eleanor.” The Shelby was Memphis’ pride and joy and teeth would be flying if someone had touched or, God forbid, scratched Eleanor.

“What’s up Sphinx?” Memphis demanded in an anxious voice. “Did something happen to Eleanor? Please don’t tell me that something happened to Eleanor, because I’ll be really, really pissed.”

“I just saw Raymond Calitri.”

Memphis stared at the Sphinx and blinked a few times as his brain processed what the Sphinx had just said. “I’m sorry, but did you just say you saw Raymond “The Carpenter”Calitri?”

“Yes.”

Coming from anyone else, Memphis would have accused them of making a very bad joke but the Sphinx wasn’t a man who played jokes on people or wasted words. In fact, his entire garage had a running bet on how many words Sphinx would speak this year.

“Impossible, absolutely impossible,” Memphis said, shaking his head in denial while his heart started pounding in his chest. He pointed his finger at the Sphinx. “The man is dead. I saw him fall to his death, I watched them cart his body away and I watched him being buried in a common grave. He is dead.” Memphis still had nightmares about Callitri almost killing Kip in a car crusher. “Are you sure it was him?

“His hair is much shorter but it was him. No mistaking that accent either and he bought a friend as well. Tall bloke, blue eyes, brown hair and black jacket. He moves like he was in the military at some point in his life,” Sphinx replied flexing his fingers.

“Where is he?” Memphis asked in a flat voice.

“He went into the VIP lounge,” Sphinx said, his eyes scanning the hall continuously. “He was starting lunch when I peeked in.”

“Toby, where is Sway and Jessie?” Memphis demanded in a concerned voice. Calitri had made some lewd and crude comments about Sway and what he would like to do to her if he got the chance.

“I think Sway went to the bathroom and Jessie just went on a coffee run,” Toby replied, looking at Memphis and Sphinx’s serious faces. “Why?

“Sphinx saw Raymond Calitri,” Memphis said flatly, pulling out his phone and called Sway. He had a quick conservation with her, and then he called his garage and spoke to Fred who was minding the garage this weekend.

“You’re joking right? Cause that’s not fucking funny, man,” Toby replied in an angry voice. Something in Calitri’s blue eyes had scared Toby to death.

“Do I look like the type of person who would make a joke about that?” the Sphinx said softly and Toby shook his head quickly. The Sphinx wouldn’t play a joke like that on his friends.

“Call Jessie and tell to him to go down to the business center and pick up my faxes and get back here,” Memphis ordered thinking quickly. “Sphinx go and discreetly watch the VIP lounge. Take a magazine or something and try not to look so menacing.”

The Sphinx merely looked at him and Memphis sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. There was no point in sending Toby, who seemed to be on edge of a breakdown. “Just watch him. I’ll send Jessie to watch Calitri when he comes back.”

\----

Jessie “Ace” Mead clutched the faxes as he hurried though the crowded promenade. Jessie had been a graffiti artist working the dock area of Long Beach. Jessie and his crew had been admiring their latest work on a garage wall when a heavy hand had clamped down his shoulder. His crew had scattered to the four winds leaving Jessie to face the music. Jessie had nearly wet his pants because the man looked like he was one step away from going completely postal. The man had marched him into the garage, sat him down on a cold metal chair and made a quick phone call. Jessie had sat there for twenty minutes shivering in fear before the irate owner had arrived.

Memphis had studied his garage wall for several minutes, and then tossed a spray can at him and him ordered to paint flames on the side of a beat up car. Jessie, sensing that this might be a test, had taken his time with the paint job. Memphis had studied the paint job when he was finished and he had hired Jessie on the spot as a custom painter.

“Hey, boss man, got those faxes you wanted,” Jessie said, thrusting faxes at Memphis. He frowned has he looked around. Toby looked upset, Sway was rubbing her stomach nervously and Memphis looked like he was ready to hit someone. “Is there something wrong?”

“The devil just came back to town and his name is Raymond Calitri,” Memphis said curtly, thumbing through the faxes. He pulled out a color picture out and gave it to Jessie. “Get over the VIP lounge and tell the Sphinx to get back here. I want you to follow this man. I want to know his every move, who he’s talking too but for the love of God, don’t let him see you. Got it?”

Jessie nodded, sensing now was not the time for questions. He looked at his shirt with the logo of Memphis garage on it. He grabbed his hoodie and made sure that his blue tooth was on. Sway nodded in approval at his quick thinking and they watched the young man disappear into the crowd.

“Is he still there?” Jessie muttered in a low voice, sitting near Sphinx, who was flipping through a car magazine. The Sphinx nodded imperceptible. “Boss man wants you back at the table.” The Sphinx got up, tossed his magazine on a table, and walked away.

Jessie sat there for twenty minutes, pretending to flip through several car magazines until Calitri and his friend stepped out of the VIP lounge. They started walking down the promenade and stopped at the escalator, clearly waiting for someone.

\---

Rose Tyler hummed happily as she went back to her hotel room. She had spent a wonderful afternoon in the luxurious Blue Crane Spa. She had an hour long hot stone message, a body scrub, a Karma facial (which turned out to be a facial using ‘imported mud’ from Thailand), a French manicure and pedicure.

She patted the TARDIS fondly and went upstairs to her room and got changed into her favorite jeans and pink blouse before calling the Doctor. She had a quick conversation with him and decided to meet up with the Doctor and Jack at the car show and then they would head out for supper.

“Hey Rose, looking good,” Jack greeted as she got off the escalator and the Doctor mentally sighed when he saw Rose. She looked so young, far too young for the likes of him.

“Had a good time, Rose?” the Doctor asked, slipping his hand into hers. No one noticed a young man following them into the Hot Rod Hall reporting their every move. Jessie didn’t notice that someone else was also following Calitri as well.

“I had a great time,” Rose replied enthusiastically as they walked along. “Before we leave, I’m booking myself another message.”

“Oh, wow, Doctor! Look at the engine on that car!” Jack said in an excited voice, sounding like a little boy, gesturing to a souped up 1959 El Caminero. “I think that’s a 348 V8 engine, right?”

Rose sighed but didn’t let go of the Doctor’s hand as Jack cooed over the car.

“Hey Boss man, Calitri’s girlfriend just showed up, she’s a really good looking blonde,” Jessie muttered softly, several feet behind Calitri and his friends. “Okay, they are stopping at Gordo’s El Caminero.”

Calitri and his friends slowly moved the hall, stopping every so often to admire the Hot Rods and Muscle cars and it was just a matter of time before they passed in front of Memphis’s kiosk.

“How are we going to play this Memphis?” Toby demanded, slipping a screw driver up his sleeve. The Sphinx looked around and pulled out his gun and held it discreetly in his hand. Sway had wisely decided to leave the kiosk. Calitri may or may not recognize her with dark brown hair but that wasn’t a chance she was willing to take with her life and the unborn baby.

“I don’t think Calitri is stupid enough to pull something in front of all these people,” Memphis said slowly, running his hands through his brown hair. “So, we are going to smile when he passes by and do nothing.”

“Heads up, people, here he comes,” Jessie muttered as he stopped and pretended to admire the Road Runner’s paint job. He started taking pictures, not of the car, but of Calitri and his friends as they walked by the car.

Memphis studied Raymond Calitri as he came closer to his booth. The brown hair was much shorter and there were a few more lines on his face but there was no mistaking those big ears, cold blue eyes or that harsh accent. He was vaguely aware that Toby was standing on his right side and the Sphinx on his left side. Memphis smiled tightly has Calitri looked over his table and then looked at him. There was no flicker of recognition in Raymond Calitri’s blue eyes. In fact, Calitri and his friends walked right by his kiosk without a single word or a backwards glance. Jessie walked by a few seconds later and Memphis jerked his head in Calitri’s direction indicating that Jessie should keep following him.

“What the hell was that all about?” Toby demanded in a low voice. “We're standing right here in full view and the man walks right by us without a word?” The Sphinx sighed in relief and pocketed his gun.

“I don’t know,” Memphis said slowly, relaxing and watching Calitri and his friends disappear around the corner. “Jessie, where are they?”

“Looking at the Hot Wheel cars,” Jessie replied in a tinny voice. “Give me a minute, boss. It’s a madhouse over here.”

“Ouch, ouch, ouch!” Rose suddenly hissed as a little boy suddenly stepped on her toes. The Hot Wheels Car exhibit was crowded with families and the noise was incredible.

“Are you alright, Rose?” the Doctor demanded in a concerned voice. A young man in a baseball cap glared at the Doctor because he was blocking his shot. Jack had managed to make his way to the front of the exhibit was chatting with a good looking man.

“My toes,” Rose said, wincing slightly “Tell you what; I’ll be sitting over at the food court while you and Jack look at the cars.”

Jessie watched the woman limp away and head over to the food court. “Hey, boss, Calitri’s girlfriend is heading over to the food court. Maybe Sway could go and check her out or something.”  
\---

Sara “Sway” Raines checked the picture on her cell phone and started scanning the food court for Raymond Calitri’s girlfriend. Despite the late hour, the food court was crowded and hopefully that would work to her advantage. She spotted Calitri’s girlfriend grabbing a table that had just become free. Sway took a deep breath, plastered a tired look on her face and walked over to her table.

“Hey, do you mind if I sit here?”

Rose’s head jerked up from her silent musing. A tired-looking woman wearing black pants and a long sleeve white blouse stared down at her hopefully.

“Oh, sure, feel free.” Rose said quickly and the woman sat down gratefully. Rose studied her. She had long brown hair, brown eyes, flawless skin, and lips that most men fantasized about and women would kill for. She reminded Rose of a certain American film actress.

“I guess a lot of people have told you that-”

“I look like Angelina Jolie?” Sway replied in a good-natured voice. Rose blushed, and started to apologize but Sway waved it off. “Don’t worry, I get that comment all the time. I may look like her but I don’t have the money or Brad.” They grinned at each other.

“ Rose Tyler.”

“Sara Raines. You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?” Sway asked taking a sip of her water, studying Rose carefully.

“I’m from London. I’ve always wanted to see San Francisco, so we decide to stop here for a few days before moving on,” Rose said vaguely. “You?”

“I’m from Long Beach, near Los Angeles,” Sway replied, leaning back in her chair, trying to make small talk.“You here with your boyfriend?”

“I’m here with friends,” Rose said in a wistful voice, thinking about the Doctor. Sometimes the way the Doctor looked at her made her heart pound in her chest and those chaste kissed that made her body tingle in anticipation, but nothing ever happened to her much to her dismay. “You?”

“I’m here with my husband and his friends. He owns a garage in Long Beach, and I decided to come down for the weekend,” Sway said with a fake sigh, “what a mistake that was.”

“Poor you,” Rose said feelingly, opening a bag of chocolate M&M’s and offering the bag to Sway, who took a few with a grateful smile.

“I like cars but to hear Memphis and his friends talk about cars all weekend long is too much,” Sway explained, waving at the hall. “I mean, who cares if the 1967 Thunderbird runs better with a V8 or a V12 engine.”

“Which one does it run better with?” Rose asked in a curious voice. She popped a few more M&M’s into her mouth and washed them down with some water.

“Both, but the V12 will give it more power,” Sway answered automatically. Catching Rose’s surprised look, Sway grinned at her. “You hang around the grease monkeys long enough, you pick up a lot of useless knowledge.”

Neither woman knew that they were being watched.

tbc


	4. Chapter four

“Where is he? Where is Calitri?” Paulo Yusta hissed at one of his so-called business associates. Paulo Yusta was in his mid fifties and he had been one of Manuel Noriega’s henchmen until the US invasion of Panama in 1989 had forced him to flee to Columbia for several years. He had returned to Panama after he bribed several top officials in the Panamanian government too look the other way. Wisely Yusta decided not to get back into the drug trade, instead he dabbled in gun smuggling, racketeering, illegal immigration and money laundering for his South American friends. 

As the drug cartels grew rich, so did their demand for luxury goods, specifically high end luxury cars. Yusta didn’t see the point in having a luxury car in the jungles of Colombia but he knew a good opportunity when he saw one. He put some feelers out that eventually had led him Raymond Calitri, an English man living in Los Angeles. Calitri was hungry and was looking to make himself a reputation in the United States. Yusta made the shipping arrangements and advanced Calitri two hundred thousand dollars to cover his costs and promised another half million dollars and all the cocaine he could snort on delivery of his cars.

The whole deal had gone right to hell. His cars had never left the dock and Calitri had simply disappeared with his money. Yusta heard rumors that some two bit car thief named Memphis Raines had killed him but frankly he didn’t believe it. More like Calitri had gotten in over his head, took the money and ran.

His Colombian friends had been royally pissed off when he failed to deliver their cars and took their business, including the lucrative money laundering elsewhere. That fucking English man had made a fool out him and Yusta had vowed that if he ever saw Calitri again, he would make the man pay. It had been pure chance that he was in San Francisco looking for cars for several clients in Chile when he got a phone call that someone had spotted Calitri at the car show.

“He’s on the fourth floor right now with a friend. Calitri’s girlfriend is in the food court talking to Sara ‘Sway’ Raines,” Paul Doherty explained as they walked along. “Calitri hired her husband, Memphis Raines to steal your cars back in 2000.”

“I see,” Yusta said coldly, connecting the dots in his mind. Calitri had used Raines to screw him over. “Grab the bitches and get them out of here and then we’re going to have a chat with that bastard Calitri and Raines.”

“They are going to grab the women when they go to the bathroom,” Doherty replied quickly, eager to please this man. Doherty was tired of being a two bit player drug dealer in San Francisco and if he got tight with Yusta. Hopefully, it would lead to bigger and better things.

“Where are Calitri and Raines?” Yusta demanded, rubbing his knuckles.

“Raines is at his kiosk and Calitri and his friend are looking at the Hot Wheels Exhibit of all things,” Doherty said with a sneer. His phone rang and he quickly answered it. “Sir, they are grabbing the women right now.”

“Good.”

“Where’s Rose?” Jack asked, looking around. A lot of people were starting to leave because it was getting close to closing time.

“Heading to the bathroom when I called her,” the Doctor replied, leaning against the railing and crossing his arms. “She’ll be along shortly.”

Jack nodded and looked down at the ground floor. An ambulance had pulled up, and the paramedics and the police were rushing to the elevator.

“Raines! Thank God you’re still here,” Deke Abbot, the owner of Abbot’s Classic Cars gasped out, stopping at his table. “Donny’s been shot!”

“What!” Memphis shouted, vaguely aware that Sphinx, Toby and Jessie stopped packing up the kiosk for the night and were staring at Deke in disbelief. “Where is he?”

“A security guard found him near the service elevator, he took one to the chest and one to the stomach. EMT’s are with him right now,” Deke panted and gestured with his hands. “Go, go, I’ll close your booth.”

“Thanks.”

“Sir, you need to stay back,” a security guard ordered weakly as Memphis tried to push past him. Sphinx glared at the man and the security guard’s protest died in his throat. Let the real cops deal with the nut job. 

“What happen?” Memphis demanded anxiously to one of the police officers. He could see a huge smear of blood on the floor and the paramedics’ frantically working on his friend.

“Who are you?” Officer Patton demanded, grabbing his arm and preventing him from going to Donny.

“His friend, damn it,” Memphis snapped, trying to shake off the police officer’s arm.

“Is your name Memphis?” Officer Patton demanded, letting his arm go. “He was asking for you. He said something about Sway.”

“Oh, god, that’s my wife’s name,” Memphis choked out, feeling all the blood rush from his face. “What did else did he say? Tell me damn it, what else did he say?” Memphis all but shouted the last words.

“Bell, go see if the paramedics will let him talk to his friend,” Patton said quickly.

Bell had a rapid conversation with one of the paramedics who gestured for Memphis to come over. Memphis winced when he saw his friend. Donny’s clothes were stained with blood and his dark skin was almost grey from blood loss. An oxygen mask had been strapped to his face and IV’s ran into his body. Memphis took Donny’s limp hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Donny managed to open his eyes and stared at Memphis through a haze of pain killers.

“Took Sway and blonde girl...shot me, it hurts,” Donny slurred, trying to fight the pain killers that were pumping through his system. Donny closed his eyes and for one horrible second, Memphis thought that Donny was dead until Donny weakly squeezed his hand.

“Sir, you need to move, we need to get him to a hospital right now,” the paramedics ordered briskly, gesturing to her co-worker to help with the gunnery. “Who is coming with him?”

“I will,” Toby said quickly.

Memphis refused to speak to the police and made a brief stop at the bathroom to wash his bloody hands when his cell phone rang. It was Sway’s phone number.

Memphis swallowed several times before answering. “Hello?”

“Room 110, South Hall in five minutes.” The line went dead before he could ask questions.

He looked at Jessie and Sphinx, trying to ignore the ball of ice in his stomach. “They have sway and they want to talk.”

The Doctor glanced around impatiently. There were small groups of people left in the building and the security guards were starting to usher a few stragglers out the various halls. The Doctor’s cell phone started to ring.

“Rose-”

“Room 110, South Hall, in five minutes.” 

The Doctor stared at the cell phone and then looked at Jack. “Someone took Rose.” The Doctor’s voice was cool and his face impassive, but the fury in his blue eyes said otherwise. It took all of Jack’s self control not to step back. The Oncoming Storm had just arrived and God help anyone who stood in the Doctor’s away.

\---  
Memphis, the Sphinx and Jessie went into room 110 and stopped short. Raymond Calitri and several unknown men were standing in the room. Memphis saw red.

“You bastard!” Memphis shouted, taking a wild swing at Calitri. “Where’s the hell is my wife? What did you do with Sway?”

The next thing Memphis knew, he was on the floor gasping for air. There were several loud clicks. Memphis looked up and saw that three unknown men had drawn their guns and had them trained on Calitri and his friends.

“Get up.”

The words were spoken coldly, with a threat of violence. Memphis got up and glared at Paulo Yusta and his armed men. Calitri was glaring at Yusta with a very unpleasant expression on his face.

“Where is my wife?” Memphis asked, barely hanging on to his self control. The guns were the only reason why he didn’t charge Calitri again.

“Raymond “The Carpenter” Calitri, and Randal “Memphis” Raines,” Paulo Yusta said slowly, enunciating their names. He glared at the Doctor and then at Memphis. “Did you really think you could double cross me, Calitri? You take my money, promise me my cars and then with Raines’ help, you disappear on me?”

“Look, you have the wrong person,” the Doctor said calmly, lowering his hands. “My name is not Raymond Calitri, my name is Doctor John Smith, I work for-” 

“I don’t give a shit what you call yourself these days,” Yusta shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. “ I lost a lot of business because of you. You fucked me over and I’m here to collect my pound of flesh.”

“If you want money, name your price and I can get it to you in twenty four hours,” the Doctor said only to be cut off. 

“I don’t want your money, I want my fucking cars, the cars that I hired you to steal for me,” Yusta explained, waving his gun at the Doctor. Spittle ran down his mouth.

“I honestly don’t know what you are talking about. I’ve never seen either one of you in my life,” the Doctor said, tapping his fingers on the side of his pants, hoping that Jack would get his message and not do anything stupid. He knew that Jack was carrying his sonic gun but right now they were outnumbered and out gunned.

“Where’s my wife?” Memphis demanded, clenching his hand into a fist. “So God help me, if you’ve hurt her in anyway...” 

The Doctor mentally nodded. No one was going to save these men from his wrath, he would make sure of that

“Big words coming from a little man,” Doherty sneered at Memphis, gesturing obscenely at his groin, and his men laughed at Doherty’s crude joke. 

“What do you want?” Jack asked, trying to draw their attention away from the Doctor and Memphis.

“I want my fucking cars,” Yusta snapped. He pulled out a paper from his jacket pocket and threw it at the Doctor, who watched impassively has it fluttered to the ground. Jessie quickly picked it up and started studying it. “My shopping list, twelve cars in twenty four hours. Once my boat has sailed with my cars, I’ll let your bitches go.” Yusta had no intention of letting the women go. He knew some powerful men in South America would pay good money for the women, especially the Angelina clone.

The Doctor stared at Yusta as if he knew what the man was thinking and Jack could suddenly feel the electricity in the air. The hairs the back of his neck stood up and there was an overwhelming pressure on his mental shields. Jack knew that the Doctor was one step away from completely losing his temper.

“Not a good idea, Doctor,” Jack hissed, pitching his voice so only the Doctor could hear him. “We rescue Rose first and then you can deal with these stupid bastards.”

The Doctor took a deep breath and slowly released it. “If you so much as touch one hair on Rose’s head, nothing on this planet will save you.”

“Call me when you have my cars. You have twenty four hours, so get moving,” Yusta snapped, ignoring the Doctor’s threat, before he and his men swept out of the room.

\---  
The four men and the Time Lord stared at each other after Yusta and his men left and in a flash, Jack and the Sphinx pulled out their concealed guns out and pointed them on each other. 

“You bastard, you set me up!” Memphis shouted at the man he thought was Raymond Calitri. “Was Castleback in on this as well? Did G.R.A.B set this up?”

“For the last time, my name is not Raymond Calitri,” the Doctor snapped at Memphis, his blue eyes boring into Memphis’ eyes. “I have no clue who that man is and I have no clue who you are.” The Doctor yanked out his international driver’s licence and threw it at Memphis. It landed at his feet and Jessie quickly picked it up and studied it.

“You can buy these for the right price anywhere in southern California Doctor John Smith,” Jessie sneered and tossed the driver’s licence back at the Doctor. 

“Put the gun away Jack,” the Doctor snapped in an impatient voice. “I don’t have time for a Mexican standoff right now. We need to find Rose before it’s too late.”

Jack reluctantly lowered his gun, acutely aware that Sphinx still had his gun trained on him.

“Here,” the Doctor snapped, pulling out his psychic paper, focused on it, and then threw it at Memphis. “Doctor John Smith, United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Call the phone number on the back, I’m sure the Prime Minister of Great Britain would love to explain my credentials to you.” The Doctor knew that Harriet Jones would go to bat for him if Memphis called. After all, he helped her to become the Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Memphis studied the security identification card and memorized the phone number on the back. There were way too many security features on the card for it to be a fake. Memphis sighed and made a decision he hoped he was not going to regret.

“Put the gun away Sphinx,” Memphis said in a tired voice, running his hand through his hair. “You’re right, we don’t have time for this. Sway and the baby’s lives are on the line right now.”

“Baby? What baby? Sway’s having a baby?” Jessie demanded in a surprised voice. He looked at Sphinx. “Did you know about this?” Sphinx merely smiled and shrugged.

“Sway’s about seven weeks along, we were going to tell everyone at Christmas,” Memphis said tossing the psychic paper back at the Doctor. “Give me that list, Jessie, I need to know what ladies we’re talking about.” Memphis studied the list and shook his head. It was a standard shopping list for stolen cars: Porsches, Jaguars, Hummers, and a Ford F-150 pickup truck.

The Doctor had a quick conservation on his cell phone and hung up. “Come on, we’re going back to our hotel room, our car should be here in five minutes.”

“Yeah good idea,” Memphis said pulling out his phone. “I need to make a few phone calls and find out where these cars are.”  
***

Victorio Russo was standing at the reception desk scanning the lobby anxiously. Doctor Smith had called fifteen minutes ago and the man sounded like he was in a towering rage. He had curtly demanded a MacBook Pro, food and coffee for his room and Doctor Smith also demanded two BMW SUV’s in the parking lot.

He watched in trepidation has Doctor Smith swept into the hotel followed by Mr. Harkness and three unknown men. He swallowed when he saw Doctor Smith’s livid expression and was thankful it wasn’t directed at him. Victorio gave the MacBook and car keys to Mr. Harkness and spoke to the Doctor in a low voice. “Doctor Smith, might I have a word or two in private please?”

The Doctor nodded and Russo drew him aside and spoke very carefully. “Doctor Smith, we have the law firm Maynard, Russell and Bettany on retainer if you need their services and I can arrange for a cash transfer for up to two million American dollars in twenty hours if you need it.”

Doctor Smith nodded curtly and walked away. 

“Wow,” Jessie said in an awed voice, looking around the loft, “this place is amazing.” It was the type of place that most people could only dream of staying in for the weekend. 

“Focus, Jessie,” Memphis snapped, commandeering the dining room table. For some unknown reason, Calitri or rather the Doctor had dragged the small living room table near the television while Jack tore the computer box open. “We need to get a crew together. I’ve already called Fred. He’s going to hack the DMV database and get the addresses for the cars. Jessie, Sphinx, do you have any contacts in the Bay Area?”

“We are not getting a crew together,” the Doctor said in a firm voice. He took his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and aimed it at the window. There was a flash of light and a huge blue box appeared out of nowhere.

“What the hell is that?” Memphis asked in a stunned voice. “A Police box? What is that?”

“They’re were used in the 1960's. If you needed help, you picked up the telephone and called the police,” Sphinx said slowly. “They went out of use in the early 1970's.”

“It’s not a police box, it’s my ship, and she’s called the TARDIS. She’s going to help us find Rose and Sway,” the Doctor explained, patting the TARDIS fondly, ignoring Memphis. Sphinx and Jessie’s looks of disbelief. “Alright Jack, I’m going to access the TARDIS computer system and I want you to set up a remote access out here.”

“Will do, Doctor,” Jack replied in a serious voice.

The Doctor took a very deep breath and pushed the TARDIS doors open, ignoring the gasps of shock and amazement from Memphis, Jessie and the Sphinx when they saw the inside of the TARDIS. 

“Oh, my God, that’s a spaceship,” Memphis said in a stunned voice. “It’s bigger on the inside than the outside. How is that possible?”

“His ship is called the TARDIS: Time and Relative Dimensions In Space. The inside of the TARDIS exists inside its own dimension. She’s a spaceship and time machine all rolled into one.,” Jack said calmly, pouring four cups of coffee and for good measure added a generous splash of Johnny Walker Blue Label into their coffees. “As you can guess, we’re not exactly from around here.”

“Are you human?” Jessie asked in an excited voice. Jessie had grown up on a diet of science fiction shows as a kid.

“More or less,” Jack replied in an offhand voice. Most humans by the fifty-first century had one way or another under gone genetic tinkering at some point, “but do yourself a favor, don’t call the Doctor human. He gets really offended if you call him that.”

“But he looks human,” Memphis protested, taking a sip of the coffee.

“He’s not human, not even close. On the evolutionary scale, he's the top dog and the rest of us are dirt beneath his feet, ” Jack said in a sober voice. “I’m not joking when I tell you that he is one of the most dangerous people in the universe when he’s provoked. Yusta let the genie out of the bottle and Rose is the only person who can put the cork back in.”

“Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation,” the Sphinx quoted softly. Jack, Memphis and Jessie looked at him. “Kahlil Gibran, famous poet from the Twentieth century,” Sphinx offered by way of explanation.

“Wait a minute, if that’s a time machine, why doesn’t he go back in time and prevent Rose from being kidnapped?” Memphis demanded, putting down his coffee while Jessie and the Sphinx listened closely.

“Rule number one of time travel: never cross your own time line to try and prevent something from happening if it’s already happened. Very bad things will happen if you tried to do that,” Jack explained, snagging a club sandwich and wolfing it down. He gestured at them to eat, knowing it was going to be a long night.

“Like what?” Jessie demanded between bites of his roast beef and mushroom sandwich.

“The end of the universe for one thing,” Jack said seriously.

The Doctor placed his hands on the TARDIS console and linked his mind to the TARDIS. The TARDIS already knew via their telepathic link what had happened to Rose and she was very anxious to help. The Doctor explained exactly what he was going to do when he found Rose and the TARDIS quickly agreed to his plan. He patted the console gently and thanked her.

The Doctor checked the air levels and was pleased to note that the air in the TARDIS should be breathable in ninety minutes but her energy levels were still low for his liking.

The Doctor went into one of the storage rooms and grabbed several cables and spent several minutes hooking the cables into the TARDIS computer system. “Jack,” the Doctor stuck his head out of the TARDIS and tossed several cables at Jack. “Start hooking all the cables up to the computer except the blue one. Plug that into the router and then into the television.”

“Ready, Doctor,” Jack called out five minutes later. The computer and the television turned on and the screens were filled with geometric patterns, numbers and letters. “Doc, we need this in English.” The computer and television screens shimmered and English suddenly filled the screens. 

The Doctor plugged his cell phone into a jack and a picture of Earth suddenly appeared on the television. The Doctor quickly typed in several commands and several more pictures of Earth showing different countries appeared on the screen. Memphis drew away from the group when his cell phone started ringing.

“What are you doing?” Jessie asked in a curious voice. The Sphinx sat down on the sofa and watched the unfolding events with a great deal of interest.

“Trying to find a satellite parked over the Western United States so we can find Rose and Sway,” the Doctor replied, his fingers flying over the keyboard at lightning speed.

“Are you telling me that you’re hacking a bunch of satellites to find Sway and Rose? That is so cool!” Jessie said enthusiastically has the Doctor finally found California using a top secret military satellite. Memphis came back to the group with a slightly stunned look on his face.

“Have a nice chat with Harriet Jones, Memphis?” the Doctor asked not looking up from the computer. He had overheard the entire conservation between Memphis and the Prime Minster of Great Britain.

“Yeah, she says hello,” Memphis replied weakly, finishing his coffee in one shot. Fred had called Harriet Jones, who in turn, had called Memphis. The Prime Minister of Great Britain had not minced her words with him, ordering him to help the Doctor in any way possible. He poured himself a generous splash of Johnny Walker Blue Label and tossed it back in one shot.

“Hey, take it easy,” Jack warned, taking the bottle away from Memphis. “We need you cool and sober right now. Save that for later.”

“Give me your cell phone Memphis,” the Doctor demanded and Memphis tossed his phone to the Doctor. The Doctor plugged the phone in and a huge grin lit up his face when he saw the satellite imagery. 

“Yes, I’ve found them! Right there,” the Doctor said, jabbing his finger at the moving dot on the TV screen. “They’re on Highway 280 heading south. Yusta,” the Doctor said pointing to another moving dot, “is about ten minutes behind them. Jessie, use the computer and Goggle that area. Jack get down to the cars and bring me the GPSs. I need to fix them so we can track Rose and Sway.”

Jack nodded and five minutes later came back with the GPSs. The Doctor quickly reprogrammed the GPSs so they could track Rose’s and Sway’s cell phone signals. 

“Doctor, they’ve stopped,” Jessie called out, pointing at the television screen. “They’re in Hamilton, about eighty kilometers away from San Francisco. ”

“Makes sense,” Memphis said, staring at the television screen and he looked at the Doctor with a sober expression. “Hamilton has a huge dock and warehouse area. Lots of cargo and container ships coming and going during the day and night.”

“Give me your cell phones,” the Doctor demanded, pointing his sonic screwdriver at the cell phones. “Right, all the cell phones are linked to Memphis’ and my cell phone.” The Doctor glanced at the TARDIS then nodded curtly. He tossed one set of car keys at Memphis and the other set at the Sphinx. “Let’s go.”

tbc


	5. Chapter 5

“You’re going to have one Hell of a bruise on your face, Rose,” Sway said regretfully, staring at Rose’s face. A livid bruise was starting to bloom on the left side of Rose’s face. Rose had tried to go to Donny’s aid, but Diaz had struck her in the face with his gun.

“It’s okay, I’ve had worse,” Rose muttered in a tired voice, wishing that she had some ice for her throbbing face. They had been shoved into a SUV and driven out of San Francisco until they reach the City of Hamilton. They had been taken to a warehouse were they had been locked in an empty office.

“Does Calitri hit you often?” Sway asked, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms. She wasn’t looking forward to conversation she was about to have with Rose.

“Who?” Rose asked, looking at her blankly. Sway sighed and shook her head. She had met girls like Rose who made every excuse under the sun for their boyfriend’s abusive behavior until it was too late.

“Your boyfriend, Raymond Calitri,” Sway replied shortly. “You know blue eyes, big ears and that harsh accent." 

“First of all, his name is not Raymond Calitri, his name is Doctor John Smith, he’s not my boyfriend and he’s never hit me! Do I look like the type of person who would stay in that type of relationship?” Rose snapped at Sway. She had seen enough women in the Powell Estate who stayed with abusive boyfriends and husbands and she vowed never to get involved in that type of vicious relationship. Jimmy Stone had been a lying, cheating bastard but he had never hit her and Mickey would never dream of striking another woman.

“I hate to tell you this, Rose, but his real name is Raymond Calitri. He’s a car thief. He hired my husband to steal fifty cars for him otherwise he would kill Memphis’s brother,” Sway explained. “Calitri almost killed Memphis but Calitri fell to his death in Long Beach.” Sway stopped for minute. There were a lot of things that didn’t make sense about Calitri when she thought about it.

“No way, that is absolutely impossible. The Doctor might be a lot of things, but he’s not a car thief,” Rose said, shaking her head with a snort. “That is so far from the truth it’s not even funny.”

“Listen, Rose, you don’t have to stay with Calitri. There are several shelters in San Francisco that will be more than happy to help you start over with your life,” Sway said gently.

“Look, Sway, you have no idea what you are talking about, so why don’t you drop it,” Rose snapped trying to ignore the throbbing pain in her face. She took a deep breath.“Right now, we have a lot more important things to worry about, like getting out of here.”

Sway nodded and the issue was put on the back burner for now.

“Do you have any ideas how to escape from here?” Rose asked after a minute of uncomfortable silence. She looked around the room for inspiration. The window was barred with thick steel bars so crawling out the window was out of the question. There was a rusty metal chair, a spray bottle filled with cleaning fluid and mop and bucket filled with dank water.

“If we could lure one or two of the men in here, maybe we could knock them out with the chair and I’m sure that water or whatever that stuff is can blind them,” Sway said slowly.

“Sounds like a plan, but how do we get them in here?” Rose said, looking at the metal chair. She folded it up and took an experimental swing. It whistled through the air nicely.

“You can pretend that you’re sick,” Sway replied, looking at Rose’s face with a wince, “that guy did hit you pretty hard across the face.”

“Nay, that’s the oldest trick in the book. We need something more creative,” Rose said, taking the mop out of the bucket and almost gagging at the smell. She quickly unscrewed the mop head and tossed it in the corner, leaving her with a makeshift quarter staff. There was about half a bucket of dirty water and the spray bottle was about three quarters full.

“Well, how about we have a screaming match or a fight?” Sway said slowly, thinking about some of the bar fights she had witnessed throughout the years. “Two women screaming at each other and threatening to claw each other’s eyes out will bring the men running.”

“That’s true,” Rose agreed. Men loved seeing two women beating the crap out of each other. “Bring it on girlfriend!”

Wally Collins drained his beer and lit a joint while the radio droned in the background. He was stuck on guard duty while Yusta and his boss where downstairs doing God knows what. Yusta made it clear that no one was to touch the women without his permission. A shame really, he was looking forward to spending some quality time with the Angelina clone.

“You bitch! Who the hell do you think you are talking about my boyfriend like that?” the British woman shouted angrily.

“Shut up, you bottle blonde! Calitri must be getting pretty fucking desperate if he’s trolling the slums of London looking for someone like you,” the other woman shouted back. “How much does he pay you to fuck him?”

“Tell me something, does your boyfriend pay for your Botox treatment for your lips? You have better lips than a porn star,” the British girl taunted in a nasty voice, “or is he fucking you because you look like Angelina? 

There was a loud crash followed by a loud shriek of pain. “You bloody bitch! I’m going to kick your fat ass back to London.” There was another loud crash followed by more vicious insults. 

“Get off me, you fat cow. Hey! Someone, get me out of here, the bitch is trying to kill me,” the British girl screamed frantically. There was another loud crash, followed by a scream of pain and the sound of someone sobbing.

“God dammit,” Collins muttered blurrily, getting up and staggering over to the door. He fumbled with the keys and finally got the door open. The blonde girl was lying on the floor in a crumbled heap. There was a noise behind him and when he turned around, a metal chair hit him right across the face. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

Rose got up and quickly patted his pocket down while Sway looked out the door, hoping that no one else had heard their fight. 

“Damn, no cell phone,” Rose said in a disappointed voice and tossed his keys to Sway. Rose eyed his gun distastefully. “Do you want his gun?

Sway nodded and took the gun from Rose and stuck it in her waistband of her pants and Rose grabbed the spray bottle and mop stick. “Come on, let’s try to get out of here,” Sway said softly and closed the door behind them. Hopefully, they would be long gone before Collins woke up or someone discovered him.

They slowly made their way downstairs, pausing every so often listening for the other men in the warehouse. They paused when they heard someone coming up the stairs and quickly ducked into an utility closet until the footsteps receded in the distance. Their hearts sank when they saw Makeba pass by carrying a pizza box and a six pack of beer.

“Hurry,” Sway hissed, pulling Rose along. “We have a few minutes before they discover we’re gone.”

They made it to the second floor when their luck ran out when Diaz came out of an office. He stared at the two women in surprise.

“What the hell!”

Rose lashed out with her mop stick, catching him right across face, breaking his nose. She twirled her makeshift quarter staff into the upright position and brought it down on his kneecap. He screamed in pain and collapsed to the floor clutching his dislocated knee. Sway stomped on his hand and Rose could hear bones breaking.

“Come on, Rose!” Sway shouted, grabbing her hand and pulling her down the stairs. Attracted by Diaz’s screams of pain, several men popped out of various offices. They ran into Doherty, who screamed in pain when Sway sprayed his face full of cleaning fluid. Rose’s nimble fingers managed to grab his car keys and a cell phone as they ran by him. They ducked when someone started firing on them from the second floor.

“We need a car,” Rose shouted as they used the stolen cars has shields. She winced when a car window across from her shattered, showering the floor with glass.

“I know! We need to steal a car closer to the front of the warehouse,” Sway snapped, ignoring the gunfire. The warehouse doors were still open but if the doors started to close, they would never get out of the warehouse alive.

More glass shattered and they could hear Yusta screaming to stop over the gunfire. They quickly made their way to the front of the warehouse and Sway couldn’t believe their luck: an Infiniti M45x AWD was idling at the front of the warehouse doors. Someone was probably going to load the car into a shipping container when the gun fight erupted.

“Get in!” Sway shrieked, shoving Rose into the passenger seat. Sway gunned the engine and they flew out of the warehouse. She quickly checked the gas gauge; the Infiniti had about half a tank of gas. Sway’s heart sank when she saw two cars come flying out of the warehouse as the Infiniti raced around the corner.

“Call for help,” Sway barked, throwing the cell phone at Rose. Rose’s face lit up when she saw the cell phone; it was hers.


	6. Chapter 6

Memphis was silent as they raced down Highway 280 towards Hamilton. He glanced at the Doctor from the corner of his eye. The Doctor hadn’t said a word since he got into the BMW half an hour ago and the dots hadn’t moved in a forty minutes. 

Memphis’s cell phone started to ring and he quickly answered it.

“Memphis, it’s Toby!”

“How’s Donny?” Memphis demanded quickly. They were going well over seventy miles an hour now and frankly, Memphis was amazed no cops were after them. The Doctor’s eyes were glued to the GPS.

“He’s going to be fine,” Toby said in a relieved voice. “The bullets didn’t hit anything important and he should be released by the end of the week unless there are complications. What’s going on? Where’s Sway?”

“We’re going to get her right now, Toby,” Memphis said quickly, checking his side mirrors. The Sphinx, Jessie and Jack were exactly two car lengths behind him.

“What about Calitri?” Toby asked in a concerned voice. 

“Don’t worry about him, it’s been taken care of,” Memphis said, flickering a glance to the Doctor. “Are you staying with Donny?”

“Yeah, figured he would like to see a familiar face when he wakes up,” Toby said. “Look, man, I gotta run, they are moving Donny into a room right now. I hope, I hope and pray that you reach Sway in time.” Toby had a hopeless crush on Sway when he first met her, which in time had developed into a good friendship.

“We will, Toby, we will,” Memphis said before hanging up. He looked at the Doctor, seeking reassurance . “We will, won’t we?” The Doctor looked at him but didn’t answer. Memphis stepped on the gas and soon the odometer read eighty miles per hour and the landscape flew by in a blur.

The Doctor suddenly hissed and his eyes lit up and Jack’s excited voice filled the car. “Look, the cell phone signals are moving, away from Hamilton.” Right on cue, the Doctor’s cell phone started to ring.

“Doctor?”

“Rose! Are you alright?” the Doctor demanded in a relieved voice. He could feel the stress draining away from his body now that he heard Rose’s voice. He caught Memphis’ frantic look. “Is Sway with you?” 

“Yeah, she’s right here,” Rose replied and Sway called out “Hello.” Memphis’s snagged in relief.

“Where are you?” the Doctor demanded, tracking their progress on the GPS. Rose and Sway had just turned onto Highway 280, heading north and Yusta was one minute behind them.

“Just clearing Hamilton right now,” Sway called out, swerving around a slow moving car. “We’ve got company. Yusta and his goons aren’t far behind us.”

“I know,” the Doctor replied, studying the GPS. Yusta was about half a mile behind them and closing fast. “You need to get off this road.”

“What? Are you crazy?” Sway demanded, darting between two cars ignoring the car horns.

“Way too much traffic on the road for what I’m going to do,” the Doctor said in a grim voice.

“There’s no way in Hell I am I going to trust you, Calitri,” Sway snapped, her hands tightened on the wheel. “For all I know, this might be a trap.”

“Sara, please,” Memphis begged desperately, using her real name, something he seldom did, “he’s not Raymond Calitri, please trust me on this, Sara.”

Sway quickly looked at Rose. “I’m not lying, Sway, his name is not Raymond Calitri, his name is the Doctor and right now, he’s the only person on the planet who can save us.”

Whatever Sway was about to say was lost when the back wind shield exploded. “Shit! They are shooting at us!” Sway slammed her foot on the gas and crossed the median into the oncoming traffic. Horns wailed and two cars swerved violently, barely missing the Infiniti.

“Where am I going?” Sway shouted while Rose hung on for dear life, thankful for her seat belt.

“Get off at exit twenty-three,” Jack shouted, quickly consulting his GPS and making several rapid calculations in his head, “and turn left at the stop sign.” 

“Okay,” Sway replied breathing heavily. She resolutely ignored the gunshots and wailing horns as they move in and out of traffic at a breath taking speed.

\---

Memphis and Sphinx flew off the exit ramp and everyone quickly got out of the cars.

“Doctor, Rose and Sway will be here in thirty seconds and Yusta will be here in forty-five seconds,” Jessie said quickly before tossing the GPS back into the car.

“What’s the plan?” Jack asked, pulling out his gun while the Sphinx mimicked him. The familiar grinding noise of the TARDIS materializing caused everyone to jump in surprise except the Doctor.

“Sway, Rose, after you have passed by me, stop and get out of your car,” the Doctor ordered into his cell phone as he pulled a small sphere out of his jacket pocket. It was glowing brightly in his hand.

“What is that?” Jack demanded, looking at the sphere. His sharp hearing could hear three cars approaching the exit ramp. He shivered when he heard gunshots, horns and squealing tires.

“Time grenade. It’s going to freeze their cars for forty five seconds, so you need to get the men out and disarmed them before time restarts,” the Doctor explained in a cold voice, “and then justice will be served.”

The men nodded and stepped back onto the shoulder of the road. Thirty seconds later, the Infiniti flew around the corner and Sway slammed on the brakes before coming to a stop twenty feet away from the Doctor. Sway and Rose scrambled out of the car and ran to their friends.

The Doctor calmly stepped out into the middle of the road and waited. Fifteen seconds later, two cars came flying around the corner and the Doctor threw the time grenade at the cars. The grenade sailed through the air and silently exploded. Time came to a complete stop around the cars. 

Wasting no time, they rushed the cars and pulled the men out of the cars and quickly disarmed them. Jack had enough time to handcuff their hands behind their backs.

Rose flew straight to the Doctor and he crushed her to his chest as if he was never going to let her go. “I thought I lost you Rose, ” the Doctor said hoarsely. The next thing Rose knew she was being thoroughly kissed by the Doctor. She suddenly hissed in pain and jerked away when the Doctor touched her face.

The smile on his face slid off when he saw the ugly bruise on her face. His expression hardened and he glared murderously at the motionless men. “Who did that?” 

Rose looked away and shrugged. A cool hand gently turned her head back to the Doctor. She sighed in defeat, knowing that she could never keep anything from the Doctor. “I got it when I tried to help that man when they shot him.”

The Doctor muttered something the TARDIS didn’t translate and Rose could see the muted rage in his blue eyes was now bordering on volcanic. 

“It’s alright,” Rose spoke quickly, taking his hands and giving them a reassuring squeeze. “I broke his nose, dislocated his knee cap and Sway probably broke his hand in several places.” Rose gave him a weak smile. “All those self defense lessons that Jack has been giving me really paid off.”

The Doctor nodded and made a mental note to thank Jack later on. “You better step back, Rose, time is going to restart in ten seconds.” Rose gave the Doctor a quick kiss on the cheek and ran over to the side of road where Jack was waiting for her with open arms.

“Get ready,” the Doctor called out and time suddenly resumed. The cars, now driverless, spun out of control and plowed into the trees, and the ensuing explosion lit up the sky.

Paulo Yusta blinked several times and looked around in surprise. A second ago, he was in his car pursuing the women and now he was kneeling in the middle of the road with hands behind his back along with the rest of his men.

“What the fuck!” Yusta shouted while the rest of his men looked around in confusion. “What the hell just happened?”

“I happened,” the Doctor said coldly, walking out of the shadows.

Yusta swallowed as he looked up. Calitri didn’t seem to be human as the fire danced over his face and body. “You should have walked away when you had the chance, Yusta, but now it’s way too late for that.”

“You gonna to kill me?” Yusta sneered at the Doctor. “I have powerful friends, you know.”

“You’re just a two-bit car thief,” the Doctor replied with a sneer, “no one is going to miss you, and no one is going to care if you disappear off the face of the Earth.”

Jack and Rose shivered at the Doctor’s tone of voice.

“Please don’t kill me,” Collins sobbed while shamelessly begging for his life. The other men except for Yusta echoed his sentiment. Yusta merely glared at the Doctor with hate-filled eyes. He was not going to lower himself to their level and beg for his life like a dog.

“Oh, I’m not going to kill you, the police are going to deal with you lot,” the Doctor said in a disgusted voice. “All of you are going away for a very, very long time.” The Doctor looked at Yusta with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You, on the other hand, will be taking a trip, a very long trip.”

Yusta spat at the Doctor, narrowly missing his black boots.

“Company is coming Doctor,” Jack said suddenly, his sharp ears picking up approaching sirens. “Three minutes before they reach us.”

The Doctor nodded and gestured to Sphinx, who roughly hauled Yusta to his feet and marched him over to the TARDIS, where Rose, Sway, Toby and Jack were waiting.

“What about them? Are we going to wait for the police?” Memphis asked, gesturing to the handcuffed men kneeling on the ground. 

“No,” the Doctor replied, shaking his head, sensing that the time lines were starting to reform around these men. He knew that these men were going to spend the rest of their lives in jail under ‘the three strikes you’re out’ law in California. “Right now, G.R.A.B is getting a phone call from an anonymous person about the warehouse in Hamilton and since there’s no honour among thieves, someone is going sell out for a lighter sentence.” 

“Good,” Memphis replied in a satisfied voice. He gave the men one last look before following the Doctor to the TARDIS.

Sway looked around the TARDIS in amazement. She looked at the Doctor and then at Rose, who was smiling at her. “You’re not Raymond Calitri.”

“Nope,” the Doctor replied, his black mood completely gone now that Rose was safe. His hands dancing over the control and everyone winced as the TARDIS dematerialized. “Hello! I’m the Doctor.”

Sway nodded and looked at Rose. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier, I was way out of line.”

“That’s alright, you were under a lot of stress,” Rose said simply. She looked closely at Sway. “Come on, you need something to eat, you look like you’re about to fall over.”

“Sway?” Memphis said anxiously, looking at his wife, then at her stomach.

“Just hungry, supper was a handful of M&M’s,” Sway replied in a tired voice, suddenly feeling drained now that the adrenalin rush had worn off. 

“Come on then, a quick trip to the infirmary so I can heal Rose’s face and make sure that you and the baby are alright,” the Doctor said taking Rose’s hand and gesturing for Memphis, and Sway to follow him.

“What about him?” Jack demanded, jerking his head in Yusta’s direction. The man was handcuffed to a railing, his eyes darting around nervously around the TARDIS’s interior.

“He’s not going anywhere,” the Doctor said, glaring at Yusta, who swore viciously at him.

“But what if he escapes?” Jessie asked anxiously. The Doctor shook his head; Jack had used isomorphic handcuffs on Yusta and there was no chance in Hell that Yusta could escape.

“I’ll watch him,” Sphinx said softly, cracking his knuckles suggestively. Yusta graphically told him what he could do to himself.

“That’s enough of that,” Jack snapped, marching forward. He typed something on his vortex manipulator and pointed his arm at Yusta. The man was still speaking but no words emerged from his mouth.

“What did you do?” Jessie asked in an awed voice.

“Put a temporal gag around his mouth,” Jack replied in a satisfied voice. “The TARDIS was getting ready to swat him.”

“Where are we going?” Rose asked in a soft voice, slipping her hand into the Doctor’s and giving it a squeeze. The Doctor had healed her face with the dermal regenerator and had pronounced Sway’s baby was fine. Yusta watched everyone through hated filled eyes. 

“Somewhere far, far away from Earth,” the Doctor replied, staring at the computer screen. The TARDIS’s energy levels were still too low for his liking but the TARDIS silently reassured him that she was fine.

“What are you going to do with him?” Memphis asked with his arm around Sway’s waist. The Doctor had checked the baby (a girl, despite Sway’s protest that the baby sexual organs hadn’t formed yet) and let everyone listen to the baby’s heart beat.

The Doctor’s eyes were cold and unforgiving when he looked at Yusta, who blanched with fear. “I would love to put you into time lock, then put you into orbit around a black hole for the rest of eternity but frankly you’re not worth the bother or the effort.” 

The Doctor turned away and looked at Jack. “Down the hallway, up the stairs to the second floor, third door to the left. Grab a one blue bag and one red bag.” Jack nodded and took Jessie and the Sphinx with him. 

“So what are you going to do with him?” Rose asked in a curious voice as the Doctor leaned back against the console, waiting for Jack, Jessie and the Sphinx to return.

“Exile,” the Doctor replied in a distant voice. He looked at Rose with a frown. “The Time Lords exiled me to Earth in the 1970s and I hated it.” The only good thing that had come out of his exile was his friendship with Alistair Lethbridge-Stuart.

There were several questions that Rose wanted to ask, but held her tongue because she knew that the Doctor was reluctant to discuss his past with her. The TARDIS began her dematerializing sequence with usual canopy of noise. Both Memphis and Sway winced at the noise and there was a thoughtful look on Memphis’s face when he looked at the console.

“No, don’t even think about it,” the Doctor warned quickly, much to Rose’s amusement. “I’m not letting anyone fiddle with the TARDIS. She’s a sophisticated machine and needs a gentle touch.”

“He’s got a point, Memphis, would you let someone work on Eleanor?” Sway pointed out, sharing a grin with Rose. Memphis wouldn’t let anyone in the garage touch Eleanor without his permission and Memphis had spent hours cooing and fussing over Eleanor. Fingerprints called for a complete wax job. The only reason why he had agreed to bring his beloved car to the auto show was because Sphinx agreed to do guard duty. No one was going to argue with someone who look liked he was one step away from ripping your arm off and then beating you death with said arm.

“Do you ever get the feeling that sometimes they need quality time with their ladies?” Rose asked, trying not to laugh while Sway snickered outright at the Doctor’s and Memphis’s outraged expressions.

“They’re laughing at us, Doctor,” Memphis said sadly, shaking his head. “They just don’t understand the bond that us men have with our ladies.” He gave Sway a sly smile and winked at Rose. “You’re just as bad, you know. You’re the only person I know who color co-ordinates her clothes, make up and nail polish to match your Hemi Barricuda.”

“Hey Doctor, got the stuff you wanted,” Jack said as they lugged two bags into the console room. Jack had taken a quick peek inside the bags before lugging the bags to the console room. He wasn’t too surprised to discover that the bags contained a survival kit.

“Good,” the Doctor replied, checking the scanner for the last time and nodding in satisfaction. His expression was cold when he stared down at Yusta. “Get up.” Yusta shook his head frantically, his eyes silently pleading with the Doctor. There was no mercy on the Doctor’s face as he stared at Yusta. “I warned you to walk away and now you have to deal with the consequences. Now, get up.”

In the end, Jack ended up sedating Yusta. The Doctor used the dermal regenerator on Yusta making sure that the man would be in perfect health before the Doctor tossed him out the TARDIS’s doors.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and feedback is loved!

“I can’t believe that we’re on another planet,” Jessie said in an awed voice while Memphis, Sway and the Sphinx nodded in agreement. The sky was bright green and the grass was dark blue, and the trees and bushes were brown with pale yellow leaves. Two moons dominated in the afternoon sky along with a white sun. In the distance they could see strange deer like creatures grazing in the lush grass and birdlike creatures diving into the pale green water of the sea.

Yusta was still handcuffed and was lying unconscious on the ground along with the two bags. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at Yusta. The man moaned several times and finally opened his eyes. Yusta froze when he saw the bright green sky.

“What the hell?” Yusta gasped hoarsely, licking his dry lips. “Where the hell are we?”

“This is the planet of Alula, located in one of the arms of the Whirlpool Galaxy. We’re about thirty-five million light-years from Earth give or take a few light years,” the Doctor lectured slowly, gesturing expansively with his hands. “It’s a pretty nice planet all things considered. Clean air, drinkable water, an abundance of edible plant and aquatic life and it’s warm and sunny all year long so you don’t have to worry about freezing to death.” The Doctor smiled unpleasantly has he drove his next point home. “This will be your home for the rest of your life.”

“You can’t do this to me!” Yusta shouted desperately, trying to get up and falling to the ground. “You can’t leave me here!”

The Doctor ignored him. “Inside those bags, you’ll find a survival kit: a tent, solar flash lights, blankets, dry food for six months, a few changes of clothing, fire starter, a medical kit, and a few other useful things.” He smiled thinly at Yusta, his blue eyes cold and unforgiving. “Frankly, it’s more than you deserve but I’m not going to have your death on my conscience.”

“Please, have mercy on me!” Yusta begged hoarsely as tears and snot ran down his face. He managed to get to his knees. “Please! Don’t leave me here!”

“I used to have so much mercy but not anymore, and certainly not for people like you,” the Doctor said in a cold voice before turning his back on the crying man. “Come on you lot, time to go.”

Yusta managed to launch himself at the TARDIS only to pass through the TARDIS as she disappeared. His scream of despair echoed across the seashore.

\---

“So, I guess you’re heading off,” Memphis asked Monday morning after breakfast. The TARDIS had landed early Sunday morning. Rose and Sway ended up at the Blue Crane Spa for a girls day out. Jack, the Sphinx and Memphis had gone to the hospital and healed Donny with the dermal regenerator and then took Donny and Toby back to the hotel. Both men nearly had a meltdown when they met the Doctor much to his amusement. Memphis, Jessie, Toby and the Sphinx went back to the auto show and closed down their kiosk. Memphis carefully drove Eleanor back to the Loft Hotel followed by the Sphinx in his Ford Thunderbird and Jessie and Toby in Donny’s Mercury Cyclone. 

They had spent most of Sunday afternoon replacing the bio and water filters in the TARDIS while Memphis and his crew told the Doctor and Jack what had happened with real Raymond Calitri. That night they had supper at The Water Pearl, one of the best seafood restaurant in San Francisco located inside their hotel.

“Yeah, quick stop at Cardiff to refuel and then who knows. The universe is a pretty big place you know, so much to see and do. Not like I have a home or family to worry about,” the Doctor replied looking at Memphis with a bitter smile and Memphis could see the lingering hurt and sorrow in the Doctor’s blue eyes.

"The better part of one's life consists of his friendships." Memphis quoted from memory. He grinned at the Doctor’s surprised expression. “It’s from Sphinx’s Quote of the Day Calendar. I figured it would come in handy one day.” The Doctor quietly chuckled and Memphis continued on. “You have a wonderful ship, a woman who loves you and a great friend in Jack. What more could a person ask for?”

“True,” the Doctor replied thoughtfully. He smiled when Rose came down the stairs chatting cheerfully with Sway. Rose grinned at him has she slipped her hand into his and gave it a squeeze. “You ready?”

“Yes, Mickey, not Ricky, is on his way to Cardiff,” Rose replied with a twinkle in her eye, “and before you ask; no, mum won’t be there. She’s gone to France for the weekend.”

“Thank Rassilon for small miracles,” the Doctor muttered under his breath. He was not looking forward to explaining their burgeoning relationship to Jackie Tyler.

“Sway, call me when the baby arrives,” Rose said cheerfully. The Doctor stared at Sway for a few seconds then looked at Memphis and smirked.

“What?” Memphis said in a suspicious voice.

“You’ll find out in a few years time,” the Doctor said in cheerful voice, tugging Rose to the TARDIS. “Time to go my lovely Rose.” Hand in a hand they walked into the TARDIS. They could hear the faint whine of the TARDIS engines and the Doctor stuck his head out the door with that smirk in place.

“Just give Eleanor the keys to your car when she asks for them; it will make your live so much easier,” the Doctor said with a knowing smile. “See you around!”

THE END.


End file.
